The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of anti-HIV drug regimens with or without a protease inhibitor (PI) in HIV infected adolescents. It will also determine if monitoring drug levels and adjusting the dose as necessary improves the effectiveness of these regimens.

Further study details as provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):

Primary Outcome Measures:

Proportion of patients achieving viral suppression (viral load less than 1,000 copies/ml) at Week 24 and maintaining suppression through Week 48 while remaining on study treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures:

Proportion of patients achieving virologic suppression (viral load less than 1,000 copies/ml) at Week 24 and maintaining suppression through Week 96 while remaining on study treatment

adherence measured by MEMS TrackCap Monitors (percentage of doses taken, estimated using the frequency of bottle openings recorded by the MEMS TrackCap Monitors, the MEMS TrackCap Monitor tracking form, and the information recorded on the questionnaires)

adherence measured by patient self-report (binary variable of perfect adherence measured 3 days prior to any study visit reported on the adherence questionnaires and the numbers of visits with reported perfect adherence up to Week 24, 48, and 96)

adherence measured by pill count (percentage of pills taken, determined by counting the pills left in the bottles)

HIV viral load at each study visit

number and severity of symptoms of distress and central nervous system (CNS) side effects

number and severity of all adverse events of Grade 3 or more attributed to study treatment

time to virologic failure (first time viral load is measured to be 1,000 copies/ml or more after Week 24, time before discontinuing study treatment for any reason before Week 96, or time before terminating study for any reason before Week 96)

HIV resistance mutations at baseline and at time of virologic failure (viral load returning to 1,000 copies/ml or more)

HIV infected adolescents may have a significantly higher capacity for immune reconstitution following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), compared to adults. Despite this advantage, HIV infected adolescents are often reluctant to get proper medical care, follow through with doctor appointments, and adhere to medication schedules and regimens necessary to keep their infection under control. Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), a PI, and efavirenz (EFV), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), both have long half-lives that make them ideal drugs for the adolescent population, as they are more forgiving if patients miss or sleep through doses. The availability of once-daily dosing of LPV/r will reduce pill burden and offers more flexibility in medication scheduling, also helping to promote treatment adherence among this age group. This study will examine the effectiveness of two HAART regimens, one with the PI LPV/r and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and the other with the NNRTI EFV and two NRTIs. The efficacy of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and subsequent dose adjustment will also be assessed with both regimens.

Patients will be enrolled in this study for 96 weeks and will be randomly assigned into one of two groups. Group 1 will receive LPV/r and 2 NRTIs. Treatment naive patients in Group 1 will have the option of receiving either once-daily dosing or twice-daily dosing of LPV/r. Treatment experienced patients will receive twice-daily dosing of LPV/r. Patients on once-daily dosing of LPV/r who become intolerant to the regimen will be permitted to switch to twice-daily dosing. Group 2 will receive EFV and 2 NRTIs. All patients will be independently and simultaneously randomly assigned to undergo either TDM with subsequent dose adjustment if necessary or no TDM.

Patient medical history and physical exam will be conducted at screening, entry, Weeks 2, 4, 8, every 8 weeks until Week 48, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Blood collection will occur at all study visits. Self-reported pill counts and MEMS TrackCap readings (on LPV/r and EFV bottles) will be noted at most visits. Patients will be asked to complete adherence questionnaires at selected study visits.

Patients enrolled in PACTG 390 (Different Combination Regimens and Treatment-Switching Guidelines in HIV Infected Children 18 Years of Age and Younger) are encouraged to coenroll simultaneously in this study and in PACTG 219C (Long-Term Effects of HIV Exposure and Infection in Children).

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

13 Years to 23 Years

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

HIV infected

HIV RNA viral load of 10,000 copies/ml or more at screening

Weigh 35 kg (77.2 lbs) or more

HAART naive or received a single regimen of combination therapy consisting of NRTIs with or without a single PI (except LPV). Patients who received zidovudine monotherapy during pregnancy or used low-dose ritonavir (RTV) as a PI boost are not excluded.

For PI experienced patients, have sensitivity to LPV at screening

Able to receive, as part of background HAART chosen by their physician, at least one new NRTI that is likely to be active against the patient's virus and unlikely to have cross-resistance with previously used NRTIs

Score of 20 or more on Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) or suicidal thoughts on BDI-II (score of 2 or 3 on Question 9), regardless of total score

Pregnant within 48 hours of starting EFV

Breastfeeding

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00075907